MacBeth ScottishDerived from the Gaelic given name
Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.
MacCarrick IrishMeans
"son of Cúcharraige" in Irish. The given name
Cúcharraige is composed of
cú "hound" and
carraig "rock".
MacCoughlan IrishMeans
"son of Cochlán". The given name
Cochlán is derived from Irish
cochal meaning "cape" or "hood".
MacDonald ScottishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
MacDhòmhnaill meaning
"son of Donald". It originates from the Highland clan Donald.
MacGregor ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacGriogair meaning
"son of Gregor". It originates from the Highland clan Gregor. A famous bearer was the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734).
Machado Portuguese, SpanishDenoted a person who made or used hatchets, derived from Spanish and Portuguese
machado "hatchet", both from Latin
marculus "little hammer".
Macháň m CzechDerived from the given name
Mach, a Czech diminutive of
Matěj and other given names beginning with
Ma.
Mack 1 Scottish, IrishShortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with
Mac or
Mc (from Irish
mac meaning "son").
MacKenzie ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacCoinnich meaning
"son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.
Mac Niadh IrishMeans
"son of Niadh" in Irish. The given name
Niadh means "champion".
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Maeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Magalhães PortugueseDenoted a person hailing from one of the numerous minor places of this name in Portugal, possibly of Celtic origin. A notable bearer was the Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (1480-1521), normally called Ferdinand Magellan in English.
Majewski m PolishDerived from Polish
maj meaning
"May". It may have been given in reference to the month the bearer was baptized.
Major EnglishFrom the Norman French given name
Mauger, derived from the Germanic name
Malger.
Maldonado SpanishFrom a nickname meaning
"badly given, ill-favoured" in Spanish.
Malinowski m PolishFrom Polish
malina meaning
"raspberry", originally indicating a person who lived near a raspberry patch.
Mallory EnglishFrom Old French
maleüré meaning
"unfortunate", a term introduced to England by the Normans.
Malone IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Maoil Eoin meaning
"descendant of a disciple of Saint John".
Manco ItalianMeans
"left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin
mancus meaning "maimed".
Mandel German, YiddishMeans
"almond" in German, an occupational name for a grower or seller, or a topographic name for a person who lived near an almond tree. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Mandela XhosaPossibly from Xhosa
mandla meaning
"district, region". This name was borne by the South African activist and president Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). His family's surname was apparently adopted in the 18th century from an ancestor's given name.
Manfredonia ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King
Manfred of Sicily.
Mann German, EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.
Mantovani ItalianFrom the name of the city of Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy (
Mantova in Italian).
Maradona SpanishFrom the name of a place near Lugo in northern Spain. A notable bearer is the former Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona (1960-2020).
Marchegiano ItalianFrom the name of the Marche region in Italy, derived from Late Latin
marca meaning "borderland". It was the real surname of the American boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), who was born Rocco Marchegiano.
Marchesi ItalianFrom the Italian title
marchese meaning
"marquis". It was probably a nickname for a person who behaved like a marquis or worked in the household of a marquis.
Markey IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Marcaigh meaning
"descendant of Marcach", a given name meaning "horse rider".
Marley EnglishOriginally denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places in Britain called
Marley, ultimately meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. One of the main characters in Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol (1843) bears this surname. It was also borne by the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
Marlow EnglishOriginally a name for a person from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name means "remnants of a lake" from Old English
mere "lake" and
lafe "remnants, remains". A notable bearer was the English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).
Marmo ItalianMeans
"marble" in Italian, possibly indicating a person who lived near a quarry or one who worked with marble.
Marquardt GermanFrom Old High German
marka "border, boundary" and
wart "protector". This was an occupational name for a border guard.
Marsden EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
mearc "boundary" and
denu "valley".
Marsh EnglishOriginally denoted one who lived near a marsh or bog, derived from Old English
mersc "marsh".
Marshall EnglishDerived from Middle English
mareschal "marshal", from Latin
mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German
marah "horse" and
scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.
Marston EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
mersc "marsh" and
tun "enclosure".